Data transmission control method and apparatus, and terminal

ABSTRACT

A data transmission control method and apparatus, and a terminal are disclosed. The method includes: performing, by a master terminal, a timing negotiation with respective slave terminals to obtain timings allocated to the respective slave terminals; sending, upon completion of timing allocation, interactive data by means of broadcasting, the interactive data being sent to the slave terminals; receiving responses of the respective slave terminals to the received interactive data according to the allocated corresponding timings; and acknowledging, using the received responses, completion of transmission of the interactive data to the slave terminals. The data transmission control method and apparatus and the terminal can be used to improve data transmission efficiency and channel utilization.

This application claims priority to and benefits of Chinese PatentApplication No. 201611225959.0, filed with the State IntellectualProperty Office of P. R. China on Dec. 27, 2016. The entire content ofthe above-referenced application is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

This application relates to the technical field of wirelesscommunications, and in particular, to a data transmission control methodand apparatus, and a terminal.

Related Art

With the development of radio, wireless data transmission is very widelyapplied. At present, one-to-one transmission is usually used, that is,data is transmitted to another terminal by the same frequency and in thesame channel.

When data needs to be wirelessly transmitted to a plurality ofterminals, one-to-multiple transmission by the same frequency and in thesame channel may likely cause interference, resulting in poor stability.At present, in the case of one-to-multiple data transmission, a masterterminal interacts with a plurality of slave terminals in a pollingmanner in different periods of time, so that the same data istransmitted to different slave terminals through multiple transmissionsduring different periods of time. Data transmission is completed bymultiple transmissions. However, the entire data transmission process isinefficient, and the channel utilization is low, especially for theone-to-multiple data transmission process used in the technical area oftire pressure sensor. Specifically, when a special services tool as amaster terminal needs to transmit data to multiple tire pressure sensors(as slave terminals) in the car, it is inefficient to transmit data bythe method of the art.

SUMMARY

In order to solve the technical problems in the related art ofinefficient data transmission process and low channel utilization duringdata transmission, this application provides a data transmission controlmethod and apparatus, and a terminal.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of this application provides a datatransmission control method. The method is applied to a master terminalallowed for data transmission with at least two slave terminals. Themethod includes:

performing a timing negotiation with the respective slave terminals toobtain timings allocated for the respective slave terminals;

sending, upon completion of timing allocation, interactive data by meansof broadcasting, the interactive data being sent to the slave terminals;

receiving responses of the respective slave terminals to the receivedinteractive data according to the allocated corresponding timings; and

acknowledging, using the received responses, completion of transmissionof the interactive data to the slave terminals.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of this application provides a datatransmission control method. The method is applied to slave terminalsfor data transmission with a master terminal. The master terminal isallowed for data transmission with at least two of the slave terminals.The method includes:

acquiring timings obtained by performing a timing negotiation with themaster terminal and allocated for the slave terminals;

receiving, upon obtaining of the timings, interactive data sent by themaster terminal by means of broadcasting; and

responding to the interactive data according to the allocated timings.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of this application provides a datatransmission control apparatus. The apparatus is applied to a masterterminal allowed for data transmission with at least two slaveterminals. The apparatus includes:

a first timing negotiation module, configured to perform a timingnegotiation with the respective slave terminals to obtain timingsallocated for the respective slave terminals;

a data sending module, configured to send, upon completion of timingallocation, interactive data by means of broadcasting, the interactivedata being sent to the slave terminals;

a response receiving module, configured to receive responses of therespective slave terminals to the received interactive data according tothe allocated corresponding timings; and

a transmission determination module, configured to acknowledge, usingthe received responses, completion of transmission of the interactivedata to the slave terminals.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of this application provides a datatransmission control apparatus. The apparatus is applied to slaveterminals for data transmission with a master terminal. The masterterminal is allowed for data transmission with at least two of the slaveterminals. The apparatus includes:

a second timing negotiation module, configured to acquire timingsobtained by a timing negotiation with the master terminal and allocatedfor the slave terminals;

a data receiving module, configured to receive, upon obtaining of thetimings, interactive data sent by the master terminal by means ofbroadcasting; and

a response module, configured to respond to the interactive dataaccording to the allocated timings.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of this application provides a masterterminal. The master terminal is allowed for data transmission with atleast two slave terminals. The master terminal includes:

at least one processor; and

a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor,wherein

the memory stores an instruction executable by the at least oneprocessor, the instruction being executed by the at least one processorto enable the at least one processor to perform the method provided inthe first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of this application provides a slaveterminal. The slave terminal is used for data transmission with a masterterminal. The master terminal is allowed for data transmission with atleast two slave terminals. The slave terminal includes:

at least one processor; and

a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor,wherein

the memory stores an instruction executable by the at least oneprocessor, the instructions being executed by the at least one processorto enable the at least one processor to perform the method provided inthe second aspect.

The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this applicationmay include the following beneficial effects:

During data transmission between a master terminal and a plurality ofslave terminals, the master terminal performs a timing negotiation withthe slave terminals to obtain timings allocated for the slave terminals.Upon completion of timing allocation, the master terminal sendsinteractive data by means of broadcasting. When responses of therespective slave terminals to the received interactive data according tothe allocated corresponding timings are received, completion oftransmission of the interactive data to the slave terminals isacknowledged using the received responses. During the data transmission,the master terminal only needs to send interactive data once, and uponreceiving of the interactive data, the respective slave terminals makeresponses in a polling manner according to the allocated timings,thereby improving the data transmission efficiency and the channelutilization.

It will be appreciated that the above general description and thefollowing detailed description are merely exemplary and are not intendedto limit this application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings herein are incorporated in the specification and constitutea part of the specification. Embodiments consistent with thisapplication are shown and used in conjunction with the specification toexplain the principles of this application.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an implementation environment accordingto an embodiment of this application.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a data transmission control method according toan exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a specific implementation flowchart of performing step S110 inthe data transmission control method shown by the correspondingembodiment of FIG. 2 once.

FIG. 4 is a specific implementation flowchart of step S140 in the datatransmission control method shown by the corresponding embodiment ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a data transmission control method according toan exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a specific implementation flowchart of step S410 in the datatransmission control method shown by the corresponding embodiment ofFIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a scenario where four sensors areprogrammed and configured by a tool in a TPMS.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a data transmission control apparatusaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a first timing negotiation module shown bythe corresponding embodiment of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a transmission determination module shownby the corresponding embodiment of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a transmission determination module shownby the corresponding embodiment of FIG. 8.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a data transmission control apparatusaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a second timing negotiation module shownby the corresponding embodiment of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a structure block diagram of a terminal according to anexemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description will be made in detail herein with respect to exemplaryembodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Implementation manners described in the following exemplaryembodiments do not represent all implementation manners consistent withthis application. Instead, they are merely examples of apparatuses andmethods consistent with aspects of this application as detailed in theappended claims.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an implementation environment accordingto this application. As shown in FIG. 1, the implementation environmentincludes a master terminal 10 and a plurality of slave terminals 20 thatperform mutual data transmission with the master terminal 10. The masterterminal 10 and the plurality of slave terminals 20 perform a timingnegotiation respectively, thereby performing data transmission. Themaster terminal 10 and the plurality of slave terminals 20 arecommunicatively connected in a wireless manner, such as wirelessfidelity (WiFi), Bluetooth, and Zigbee (IEEE 802.15.4 standard), whichwill not be limited in the present embodiment. The master terminal 10and the slave terminals 20 may be wireless communication devices, suchas an unmanned aerial vehicle, a mobile phone, a computer, a tirepressure sensor or a programming tool in a tire pressure monitor system(TPMS), or an automobile diagnosis instrument. A specific implementationmanner is not limited by the present embodiment.

It will be appreciated that the master terminal 10 may also serve as aslave terminal under other master terminals in some embodiments, and theslave terminal 20 may also serve as a master terminal in someembodiments. A specific implementation manner is not limited by thepresent embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a data transmission control method according toan exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the data transmissioncontrol method is applied to a master terminal allowed for datatransmission with at least two slave terminals. The data transmissioncontrol method may include the following steps.

In step S110, The master terminal performs a timing negotiation withrespective slave terminals to obtain timings allocated to the respectiveslave terminals.

The slave terminals are objects that establish a communicationconnection with the master terminal. For examples, the slave terminalsare tire pressure sensors, and the master terminal is a programming tool(i.e., a special serves tool). The timing is a responding time sequenceof the slave terminals to the master terminal upon after the slaveterminals receives of data transmitted by the master terminal. In oneembodiment, a specific process of performing a timing negotiationbetween a master terminal and a plurality of slave terminals is asfollows:

S1101: The master terminal sends connection request instructions to theplurality of slave terminals in a manner of sending a broadcast frame.The connection request instruction includes a data frame. The data framemay contain a special slave identification code, which is different fromthe own identification codes of all slave terminals to be connected.Preferably, it is a binary number all-1 or all-0. The data framecarrying the special slave identification code is called a broadcastframe.

S1102: After receiving of the connection request instruction, a slaveterminal firstly determines whether the identification code in thebroadcast frame is the same as its own identification code; if yes, theslave terminal responds directly to the master terminal; otherwise, theslave terminal further determines whether the identification code is thespecial slave identification code, if yes, the slave terminal makes aresponse by random delaying for a period of time, the response datacarries its own unique identification code.

S1103: The master terminal receives response instructions from therespective slave terminals, sends timing allocation instructions to therespective slave terminals according to the number i of the allocatedtiming, and waits for acknowledgment from the respective slaveterminals. The timing allocation instruction contains the uniqueidentification code of each slave terminal from which the mater terminaljust received.

S1104: After receiving of the timing allocation instruction, the slaveterminal sets a current response delay timing according to the timingallocation instruction, sends an acknowledgment response aiming to thetiming allocation instruction, closes a request response, and thenstarts a timeout mechanism (having not received any instruction from themaster terminal within a period of time). That is, the slave terminalmakes no response to any request instruction of the master terminaluntil the time is out or a disconnection instruction is received. Theslave terminal will delay a response to the broadcast frame by theallocated timing before it receives a new timing allocation instruction.

S1105: After receiving acknowledgment instructions from the respectiveslave terminals, the master terminal records the allocated timings tothe respective slave terminals in an internal timing list of the masterterminal, which is used for subsequent communication check andverification. At the same time, the operation of step S1101 is repeateduntil there is no response of any slave terminal within a certain numberof times n, and then all timing allocations are completed.

The data transmission between the master terminal and the slave terminalis implemented according to the timing allocated by the master terminalto the slave terminal.

The data packets overlapping may occur due to simultaneous response of aplurality of slave terminals, so that interference with the datatransmission from the master terminal to the respective slave terminalsmay occur and may further cause transmission instability. Therefore, inthe present embodiments, the timings are allocated to the respectiveslave terminals in advance, the respective slave terminals respondaccording to the respective allocated timings, and the timings allocatedto different slave terminals are different, so that the response time ofthe respective slave terminals is staggered to avoid the data packagesoverlapping during the responses, and the stability of data transmissionis improved.

When the master terminal allocates a timing to a slave terminal, themaster terminal and the slave terminal may negotiate a timing at whichboth of them are in an idle state, thereby avoiding from overlappingwith time for data transmission between the slave terminal and otherslave terminals.

In step S120, after completion of timing allocation, the master terminalsends interactive data to the slave terminals by means of broadcasting.

It should be noted that each terminal has its own terminal identifier,terminal identifiers of different terminals being different from eachother.

The slave terminal stores a terminal identifier of the master terminalwhich is communicatively connected to, and the master terminal alsostores a terminal identifier of the slave terminal which iscommunicatively connected to. When the master terminal sends interactivedata in the form of broadcasting, the slave terminal storing theterminal identifier of the master terminal may receive the interactivedata sent by the master terminal.

In an exemplary embodiment, the interactive data is a data frame, andthe interactive data is transmitted frame by frame through acommunication connection.

In step S130, the master terminal receives responses to the interactivedata respectively from each of the slave terminals according to theallocated corresponding timings.

After receiving of the interactive data, the slave terminal responds tothe interactive data according to the allocated timing instead ofresponding immediately. Therefore, the master terminal can only receivea response from one slave terminal at a time, so that the data packagesoverlapping may be avoided.

For example, a terminal A (master terminal) establishes a communicationconnection with terminals B1, B2 and B3 (three slave terminals)respectively, and timings allocated to the terminals B1, B2 and B3 aretiming 1, timing 2 and timing 3, respectively. Each period of datatransmission between the terminal A and the terminals B1, B2 and B3includes the timings 1, 2 and 3. I.e., in each period of terminal Arespectively receiving from terminal B1, terminal B2 and terminal B3,the receiving sequence will be timing 1, timing 2 and timing 3, that is,the terminal B1 sends response at timing 1, terminal B2 sends responseat timing 2, and terminal B3 sends response at timing 3. After theterminal A sends interactive data, it may respectively receive responsesfrom the terminals B1, B2 and B3 according to the timings 1, 2 and 3 inthe data transmission period.

In step S140, the master terminal determines the completion ofinteractive data transmission by receiving the responses.

By means of the above-described method, a master terminal performs atiming negotiation with slave terminals to obtain timings allocated tothe slave terminals, and after broadcasting interactive data to theslave terminals, the master terminal may respectively receive responsesfrom the slave terminals aiming to the received interactive dataaccording to the allocated timings. Since the timings allocated todifferent slave terminals are different from each other, it is onlynecessary to send the interactive data once, and the respective slaveterminals respond in a polling manner according to the allocatedtimings, so that data packages overlapping is avoided, and data in achannel is protected from interference, thereby improving datatransmission efficiency, stability and channel utilization.

Alternatively, according to the description of the details of step S110shown according to an exemplary embodiment, step S110 may include thefollowing steps.

A predetermined number of communication connection broadcasts areinitiated, for each communication connection broadcast, a timingnegotiation is performed with a slave terminal responding to thecommunication connection broadcast, and the negotiated timing isallocated to the corresponding slave terminal.

The communication connection broadcast is used to request acommunication connection with other terminals. The communicationconnection broadcast does not specify a specific terminal identifier,and other terminals respond according to their own operating statesafter receiving of the communication connection broadcast.

It should be noted that after the master terminal initiates thecommunication connection broadcast, since there is not enough time forthe slave terminal to respond due to a short time or a plurality ofslave terminals respond at the same time, the master terminal cannotperform a timing negotiation with these slave terminals. Therefore, byinitiating multiple communication connection broadcasts, the situationthat a timing negotiation cannot be performed with the slave terminalmay be avoided.

The number of times for initiating the communication connectionbroadcast is predetermined. After initiation of a first communicationconnection broadcast, regardless of whether or not a response of theslave terminal is received, the next communication connection broadcastis initiated according to a predetermined time until the number of timesfor initiating the communication connection broadcast reaches apredetermined number of times.

When the master terminal initiates the communication connectionbroadcast, the slave terminals respond after a random delay, so as totry to make time of receiving the responses of the respective slaveterminals staggered.

Since the respective slave terminals respond to the communicationconnection broadcast after a random delay, it is possible that therandom delays of responses of two or more slaves terminal are the same,so that the master terminal receives the responses of two or more slaveterminals at the same time, a data packages overlapping occurs, and thusthe master terminal cannot recognize the slave terminals whichacknowledges the timings.

In order to avoid the phenomenon that responses of a plurality of slaveterminals which are received at the same time cannot be recognized, acertain number of communication connection broadcasts are predetermined,so that other slave terminals continue to respond after a random delay.As a predetermined number of times is larger, the number of times foracknowledging timings is larger, and the probability of overlappingresponses of slave terminals after a random delay is lower.

After responding to a certain communication connection broadcast of themaster terminal and in an idle timing, the slave terminal will remain astate of silence and will not respond to the next same communicationconnection broadcast of the master terminal.

With the number of times for initiating the communication connectionbroadcast increasing, the number of the slave terminals which respondsto the master terminal increases, and thus the probability of responsesof the slave terminals is improved, and the phenomenon is avoided whichdata transmission cannot be realized since some slave terminals cannotperform a timing negotiation with the master terminal due tomis-responding.

If responses from some slave terminals to a predetermined number ofcommunication connection broadcasts are not received, it may bedetermined that timing negotiation and data transmission are notperformed with these slave terminals, thereby avoiding the phenomenonthat the master terminal goes into an infinite waiting state since someslave terminals do not make timing responses.

By using the above-described method, a predetermined number ofcommunication connection broadcasts are initiated, it is maximallyensured that the slave terminals respond to the communication connectionbroadcasts, thus improving the accuracy of data transmission.

FIG. 3 is a further description of details of step S110 according to anexemplary embodiment. Step S110 may include the following steps.

In step S111, upon initiation of each communication connectionbroadcast, an idle timing of the slave terminal responding to thecommunication connection broadcast is received.

It should be noted that one terminal receives data transmitted from acertain terminal in one communication connection, may also receive datatransmitted from another terminal in other communication connections,and may also transmit data to other terminals in other communicationconnections.

For example, a terminal B1 is communicatively connected to a terminalA1, and receives data transmitted by the terminal A1. The terminal B1 iscommunicably connected to a terminal C1, and transmits data to theterminal C1.

Each communication connection occupies the timing of a terminal. Toavoid the instability of data transmission caused by overlapping of aplurality of timings, after a terminal initiates a communicationconnection broadcast, other terminals need to return an idle timing tothe terminal according to their own timing conditions.

For example, a communication connection period includes five timings,namely, timings 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and a communication connectionbetween the terminal B1 and other terminals occupies the timings 1 and3. Therefore, the timings 2, 4 and 5 are idle timings of the terminalB1. After the terminal B1 receives the communication connectionbroadcast sent by the terminal A, the terminal A will receive thetimings 2, 4 and 5 of responding of the terminal B1.

In step S112, timings are allocated to the slave terminals according tothe idle timing, and the allocated timings are sent to the slaveterminals, different slave terminals corresponding to different timings.

In order to ensure different timings allocated to different terminals,timing allocation is performed according to the idle timing ofresponding of each terminal. The timing allocated to each terminal isone of its idle timings, and it is ensured that the timing satisfies thecommunication connection of the terminals. Specifically, the masterterminal allocates timings to the respective slave terminals accordingto the received idle timings fed back by the respective slave terminalsand the number of the connected slave terminals.

For example, a communication connection period includes five timings,namely, timings 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. A terminal A receives idle timings 2and 5 of responding of a terminal B1, receives idle timings 2 and 3 ofresponding of a terminal B2, and receives an idle timing 3 of respondingof a terminal B3. The timings allocated to the terminals B1, B2 and B3by the terminal A are the timings 5, 2 and 3 respectively according tothe idle timings of responding of the terminals B1, B2 and B3.

In step S113, the master terminal receives acknowledgment messages ofthe slave terminals for the respective allocated timings.

After receiving a timing allocated by the master terminal, a slaveterminal may re-acknowledge the allocated timing to acknowledge whetherthe allocated timing meets a current data transmission condition of theslave terminal. If yes, an acknowledgment message is returned to themaster terminal, the slave terminal remains silent and does not respondto any request within a period of time. Otherwise, the slave terminaldoes not return an acknowledgment message, and continues to wait for thenext communication connection broadcast of the master terminal. The datatransmission condition may include whether the slave terminal has datacommunication with other terminals at the allocated timing currently, ifyes, the timing allocated by the master terminal does not meet the datatransmission condition, and if no, the data transmission condition ismet. The data transmission condition may further include whether theoperating efficiency of the slave terminal meets the requirement of theallocated timing currently. If yes, the data transmission condition ismet. If no, the data transmission condition is not met.

By means of the above-described method, a master terminal receives,through communication connection broadcasts, idle timing of respondingof slave terminals, and allocates timings to the respective slaveterminals according to the idle timings to ensure that the allocatedtimings satisfy own states of the respective slave terminals. The timingallocation is completed after the master terminal receives a timingacknowledgment of the slave terminals for the allocated timings. Thus,the respective slave terminals make data responses in a polling manneraccording to the allocated timings, so that a stacking phenomenon isavoided, and data in a channel is protected from interference, therebyimproving data transmission efficiency, stability and channelutilization.

FIG. 4 is a description of details of step S140 according to anexemplary embodiment. Step S140 may include the following steps.

In step S141, it is determined whether the number of the receivedresponses is equal to the number of the slave terminals. If yes (Y),step S142 is performed, and if no (N), step S144 is performed.

It should be noted that each transmitted interactive data has itsspecific data sequence number.

For the interactive data corresponding to each data sequence number, themaster terminal can only receive one response from each slave terminal.

When the number of the received responses is equal to the number of theslave terminals, it is indicated that all the slave terminals havereceived the interactive data and responded, transmission of theinteractive data having this data sequence number to the slave terminalsis acknowledged.

When the number of the received responses is not equal to the number ofthe slave terminals, it is indicated that some slave terminals do notrespond to the transmission of the interactive data having this datasequence number since the slave terminals may not receive theinteractive data having this data sequence number or the slave terminalsmay not respond after receiving of the interactive data. Therefore, itis necessary to find a slave terminal that has not responded foracknowledging data transmission.

In step S142, the master terminal determines completion of transmissionof the interactive data to the slave terminals.

In step S144, non-responding terminals are determined from the slaveterminals according to terminal identifiers in the responses.

According to the terminal identifiers in the received responses,non-responding terminals that have not responded are searched throughthe terminal identifiers of all the slave terminals.

In step S145, the interactive data is sent to the non-respondingterminals.

In an exemplary embodiment, for interactive data corresponding to acertain data sequence number, after a non-responding terminal is found,the interactive data having this data sequence number is separately sentto the non-responding terminal.

In another exemplary embodiment, for interactive data corresponding to acertain data sequence number, when a plurality of non-respondingterminals are found, the interactive data having this data sequencenumber is resent by broadcasting, and the slave terminals whichresponded to the interactive data having this data sequence number willno longer respond.

In step S146, when the master terminal receives responses of thenon-responding terminals to the interactive data, it determinescompletion of transmission of the interactive data.

It will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the master terminalmay also perform data transmission only with one slave terminal throughall or part of the steps in the above-mentioned data transmissioncontrol method. Since one slave terminal may perform data communicationwith a plurality of other terminals within the same time period, themaster terminal also needs to consider the timing requirements of theslave terminal when communicating only with the slave terminal.

By means of the above-described method, the number of received responsesand the number of slave terminals is compared, and when some of theslave terminals do not respond, interactive data is separately sent,thereby avoiding the phenomenon that some slave terminals do not receivethe interactive data, and improving the stability of data transmission.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a data transmission control method according toan exemplary embodiment. The data transmission control method is appliedto a slave terminal for data transmission with a master terminal. Themaster terminal is allowed for data transmission with at least two slaveterminals. As shown in FIG. 5, the data transmission control method mayinclude the following steps.

In step S410, A slave terminal obtains timings allocated by a timingnegotiation with the master terminal.

By performing a timing negotiation with the master terminal, the slaveterminals perform data transmission with the master terminal accordingto the allocated timings.

The timing is a time sequence in which a terminal responds uponreceiving of transmitted data. The timings allocated to the slaveterminals are sent to the slave terminals by the master terminal.

A data packages overlapping may occur due to simultaneous response of aplurality of slave terminals, resulting in interference with datatransmission to cause instability. Therefore, the master terminalallocates timings to the slave terminals in advance, and the slaveterminals respond according to the allocated timings, and the timingsallocated to different slave terminals are different, so that the timeof responses of the respective slave terminals is staggered to avoid thestacking phenomenon during the responses, and the stability of datatransmission is improved.

In step S420, after obtaining of the timings, the slave terminalreceives interactive data sent by the master terminal by means ofbroadcasting is received.

It should be noted that each terminal has its own terminal identifier,terminal identifiers of different terminals being different from eachother.

The slave terminal stores a terminal identifier of the master terminalallocating a timing thereto upon completion of timing allocation, andthe master terminal also stores a terminal identifier of the slaveterminal communicatively connected thereto. The slave terminal onlyreceives the interactive data sent by the terminal corresponding to thestored terminal identifier by means of broadcasting.

In step S430, the slave terminal makes a response to the interactivedata according to the allocated timings.

Upon receiving of the interactive data, the slave terminal respondsaccording to the allocated timing instead of responding immediately. Thestacking phenomenon caused by simultaneous response of other slaveterminals connected to the master terminal is avoided.

By means of the above-described method, a slave terminal performs atiming negotiation with a master terminal to obtain a timing allocatedto the slave terminal, and responds according to the allocated timingupon receiving of interactive data. A stacking phenomenon caused bysimultaneous response of other slave terminals connected to the masterterminal is avoided. The stability of data transmission is improved.

FIG. 6 is a description of details of step S410 according to anexemplary embodiment. Step S410 may include the following steps.

In step S411, a slave terminal receives a communication connectionbroadcast sent by a master terminal.

In step S412, for the communication connection broadcast, the slaveterminal returns at least one idle timing to the master terminal.

It should be noted that one terminal receives data transmitted from acertain terminal in one communication connection, may also receive datatransmitted from another terminal in other communication connections,and may also transmit data to other terminals in other communicationconnections.

A slave terminal determines an idle timing of responding according toits own communication connection state upon receiving of thecommunication connection broadcast.

For example, a communication connection period includes five timings,namely, timings 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, a communication connection between aterminal B1 (slave terminal) and other terminals occupies the timings 1and 3, and idle timings of the terminal B1 is the timings 2, 4 and 5.Therefore, after the terminal B1 receives a communication connectionbroadcast sent by a terminal A (master terminal), the terminal B1returns the timings 2, 4 and 5 to the terminal A.

In step S413, the slave terminal receives timing allocated by the masterterminal according to at least one idle timing.

In order to ensure different timings allocated to different slaveterminals, the master terminal will comprehensively analyze the idletimings returned by the slave terminals and other terminals, and willallocate the timings to the slave terminals. The allocated timingreceived by the slave terminal is one of its idle timings, so it isensured that the timing satisfies the communication connectionrequirements of the slave terminal.

For example, a communication connection period includes five timings,namely, timings 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The idle timings returned for theterminal A by the terminal B1 are 2 and 5. The terminal B1 will receivea timing allocated by the terminal A, that is, the timing 2 or 5, upontiming allocation of the terminal A.

In step S414, an acknowledgment message is sent to the master terminalfor the allocated timings.

In an implementation manner, a specific implementation manner of stepS414 of sending an acknowledgment message to the master terminal for theallocated timings may include the following steps.

It is determined whether the allocated timing meets a current datatransmission condition of the slave terminal. If yes, an acknowledgmentmessage is sent to the master terminal.

The data transmission condition may include whether the slave tell finalhas data communication with other terminals at the allocated timingcurrently, if yes, it is indicated that the timing allocated by themaster terminal does not meet the data transmission condition, and ifno, the allocated timing meets the data transmission condition. The datatransmission condition may further include whether the operatingefficiency of the slave terminal meets the requirement of the allocatedtiming currently. If yes, the data transmission condition is met. If no,the data transmission condition is not met. When sending theacknowledgment message to the master terminal, the slave terminal willremain silent and will not respond to any request within a period oftime. When the allocated timing does not meet the data transmissioncondition of the slave terminal, the slave terminal will not return theacknowledgment message to the master terminal, and continues to wait forthe next communication connection broadcast of the master terminal.

By means of the above-described method, after receiving a communicationconnection broadcast sent by a master terminal, a slave terminal returnsan idle timing according to its own connection state, and acknowledgesan allocated timing to make the timing of responding not overlap withtimings of responding of other terminals. A stacking phenomenon isavoided. The stability of data transmission is improved.

The following describes the above data transmission control method inconjunction with a specific application scenario. The data transmissioncontrol method operates in a terminal.

In a specific application scenario, a tire pressure monitor system(TPMS) is provided with four tire pressure sensors to monitor a tirepressure in real time during vehicle driving, and to give an alarm aboutflat tires and low pressure, thereby ensuring driving safety. Auniversal TPMS sensor is generally used. Since an internal program isblank during the delivery of the universal TPMS sensor, when repairingor replacing, a tool A should be used to program four universal TPMSsensors B1, B2, B3 and B4 to match a model. In the present embodiment,interactive data is programming data.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a scenario where four tire pressuresensors are programmed by a programming tool in a TPMS. As shown in FIG.7, a programming tool A performs a timing negotiation with tire pressuresensors B1, B2, B3 and B4 respectively to obtain timings allocated tothe tire pressure sensors B1, B2, B3 and B4 respectively. Theprogramming tool A initiates a predetermined number of communicationconnection broadcasts, performs, for each communication connectionbroadcast, a timing negotiation with the tire pressure sensor respondingto the communication connection broadcast, and allocates the negotiatedtiming to the corresponding tire pressure sensor. The programming tool Areceives, after initiation of each communication connection broadcast,an idle timing of the tire pressure sensor responding to thecommunication connection broadcast, allocates timings to the tirepressure sensors according to the idle timing, and sends the allocatedtimings to the tire pressure sensors, different tire pressure sensorscorresponding to different timings. The programming tool A receivesacknowledgment messages of the tire pressure sensors for the respectiveallocated timings.

In the present embodiment, the specific process of performing a timingnegotiation between the programming tool A and four tire pressuresensors B1, B2, B3 and B4 is as follows:

S2101: The programming tool A sends connection request instructions tothe four tire pressure sensors B1, B2, B3 and B4 in a manner of sendinga broadcast frame. The connection request instruction includes a dataframe. The data frame includes a special slave identification code,which is different from the own identification codes of all tirepressure sensors to be connected. Preferably, it is a binary numberall-1 or all-0. The data frame carrying the special slave identificationcode is called a broadcast frame.

S2102: Upon receiving of the connection request instruction, each tirepressure sensor determines whether an identification code is the same asthe own identification code, and makes a response directly if yes.Otherwise, it is determined whether the identification code is thespecial slave identification code, and if yes, a response is made uponrandom delaying for a period of time. Response data will carry its ownunique identification code.

S2103: The programming tool A receives response instructions of therespective tire pressure sensors, sends timing allocation instructionsto the respective tire pressure sensors according to the number i of theallocated timing, and waits for acknowledgment from the respective tirepressure sensors. The timing allocation instruction includes the uniqueidentification code of each tire pressure sensor just received.

S2104: Upon receiving of the timing allocation instruction, each tirepressure sensor sets a current response timing, makes an acknowledgmentresponse to the timing, closes a request response, and then starts atimeout mechanism (having not received any instruction from theprogramming tool A within a period of time). There is no response to anyrequest instruction of the master terminal until it has timed out or hasnot received a disconnection instruction. The broadcast frame receivedby each tire pressure sensor will delay a response at this timing beforethe timing allocation instruction is received again.

S2105: Upon receiving of acknowledgment instructions of the respectivetire pressure sensors, the programming tool A records the timing of therespective tire pressure sensors in an internal timing list of theprogramming tool A for subsequent communication check and verification.At the same time, the operation of step S2101 is repeated until there isno response of any tire pressure sensor within a certain number of timesn, and then all timing allocations are completed.

Upon completion of timing allocation, the programming tool A sendsprogramming data to the tire pressure sensors B1, B2, B3 and B4 bybroadcasting, respectively receives, according to timings allocated tothe tire pressure sensors B1, B2, B3 and B4, responses of thecorresponding tire pressure sensors B1, B2, B3 and B4 upon receiving ofthe programming data, and acknowledges completion of transmission of theprogramming data upon the responses of the tire pressure sensors B1, B2,B3 and B4. Specifically, the programming tool A determines whether thenumber of the received responses is equal to the number 4 of the tirepressure sensors. If the number is 4, completion of programming of allthe tire pressure sensors is acknowledged. If the number of the receivedresponses is not equal to 4, the tire pressure sensor that has notresponded is determined according to a tire pressure sensor identifierin the responses, and the programming data is sent thereto again. If theresponse sent for the programming data by the tire pressure sensor thathas not responded is received, completion of transmission of theprogramming data is acknowledged. If the response has not been received,sending of the programming data is terminated after N attempts, where Nis a predetermined integer.

Since the programming data of the four tire pressure sensors B1, B2, B3and B4 is identical, the programming data is sent once by theprogramming tool A, and the four tire pressure sensors B1, B2, B3 and B4sequentially respond to data receiving according to the allocatedtimings, thereby greatly improving channel utilization, improving theefficiency of programming configuration, and saving programming time. Inthe above embodiment, the programming tool may also display the resultsof simultaneously programming the tire pressure sensors B1, B2, B3 andB4 through a screen. In some other embodiments, the quantities of tirepressure sensors may be 2, 3, 5, 6 or a larger number. Since theprogramming data of a plurality of tire pressure sensors is identical,the programming data is sent once by a programming tool, and theplurality of tire pressure sensors sequentially respond to datareceiving according to the allocated timings, thereby greatly improvingthe efficiency of programming configuration, and saving programmingtime.

In a specific application scenario, data transmitted by a tire pressuresensor in each tire is received by a receiver in a TPMS. By setting alow frequency (LF) hardware module in a receiver A, the receiver Aestablishes a communication connection with each tire pressure sensor,and each tire pressure sensor determines its own response timingaccording to its own position in the vehicle. Each time a frame ofcommand is sent through the LF hardware module in the receiver A, eachtire pressure sensor determines its own response timing according to itsown position in the vehicle, and performs an orderly response. Forexample, the sensor in left front tire is B1, the sensor in right fronttire is B2, the sensor in right rear tire is B3, and the sensor in leftrear tire is B4. The receiver A may directly accurately determine whichsensor data is received according to a time sequence of receiving theresponse, and the respective tire pressure sensors do not have astacking phenomenon, which greatly improves the stability.

In the current field of unmanned aerial vehicles, most of them areone-to-one video display, or data is transmitted to a server, and thenthe data is forwarded to each terminal through the server to realizeone-to-many data transmission, which is high in efficiency and cost. Ina specific application scenario, an unmanned aerial vehicle Aperiodically sends a frame of connection broadcast, and performs atiming negotiation through responses of terminals B1, B2 and B3 toobtain timings allocated to the terminals B1, B2 and B3 by the unmannedaerial vehicle A. When the unmanned aerial vehicle A starts videoshooting, real-time videos are sent to the terminals B1, B2 and B3 inthe form of broadcasting, the terminals B1, B2 and B3 respond to theunmanned aerial vehicle according to the allocated timings, and theunmanned aerial vehicle A still periodically sends a frame of broadcastconnection command, so as to still establish a communication connectionwith other terminals during the video transmission. When the connectedterminal B2 has a broken link, the unmanned aerial vehicle A willreclaim the timing of the terminal B2, and this timing is allocated toother terminals, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of avideo.

In a specific application scenario, the same function of multiplevehicles is subjected to fault diagnosis simultaneously by a diagnosisinstrument A. By establishing a communication connection between thediagnosis instrument A and automobiles B1, B2, B3 and B4, timingsallocated to the automobiles B1, B2, B3 and B4 are obtained byperforming a timing negotiation between the diagnosis instrument A andthe automobiles B1, B2, B3 and B4 through the communication connection.Upon completion of time allocation, the diagnosis instrument A sendsinstructions to the automobiles B1, B2, B3 and B4 by broadcasting, andrespectively receives, according to the timings allocated to theautomobiles B1, B2, B3 and B4, functional data responded by thecorresponding automobiles B1, B2, B3 and B4 upon receiving of theinstructions. After the automobiles B1, B2, B3 and B4 respond, thediagnosis instrument A analyzes the data of the respective automobilesrespectively to obtain fault diagnosis reports of the respectiveautomobiles. Since it is the fault diagnosis for the same function ofthe four vehicles B1, B2, B3 and B4 and the communication protocols ofdifferent vehicles are very similar, the fault diagnosis of a pluralityof vehicles can be completed by sending one instruction through onediagnosis instrument. The fault diagnosis efficiency of the vehiclefunction is greatly improved.

The following is an embodiment about the apparatus of this application,which may be used for performing the embodiment about the above datatransmission control method. Details not disclosed in the embodimentabout the apparatus of this application should refer to the embodimentabout the data transmission control method of this application.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a data transmission control apparatusaccording to an exemplary embodiment. The apparatus is applied to amaster terminal for data transmission with slave terminals. Theapparatus includes, but is not limited to, a first timing negotiationmodule 110, a data sending module 120, a response receiving module 130,and a transmission determination module 140.

The first timing negotiation module 110 is configured to perform atiming negotiation with the respective slave terminals to obtain timingsallocated to the respective slave terminals.

The data sending module 120 is configured to send, upon completion oftiming allocation, interactive data by means of broadcasting, theinteractive data being sent to the slave terminals.

The response receiving module 130 is configured to receive responses ofthe respective slave terminals to the received interactive dataaccording to the allocated corresponding timings.

The transmission determination module 140 is configured to acknowledge,using the received responses, completion of transmission of theinteractive data to the slave terminals.

Details of the implementation process of the functions and effects ofthe respective modules in the above apparatus should refer to theimplementation process of the corresponding steps in the above datatransmission control method, and will not be described herein again.

Alternatively, the first timing negotiation module 110 is specificallyconfigured to initiate a predetermined number of communicationconnection broadcasts, perform, for each communication connectionbroadcast, a timing negotiation with the slave terminal responding tothe communication connection broadcast, and allocate the negotiatedtiming to the corresponding slave terminal.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, the first timing negotiation module110 includes, but is not limited to, an idle timing receiving sub-module111, a timing allocating and sending sub-module 112 and a timingacknowledgment receiving sub-module 113.

The idle timing receiving sub-module 111 is configured to receive, uponinitiation of each communication connection broadcast, an idle timing ofthe slave terminal responding to the communication connection broadcast.

The timing allocating and sending sub-module 112 is configured toallocate timings for the slave terminals according to the idle timing,and send the allocated timings to the slave terminals, different slaveterminals corresponding to different timings.

The timing acknowledgment receiving sub-module 113 is configured toreceive acknowledgment messages of the slave terminals for therespective allocated timings.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 10, the transmission determinationmodule 140 includes, but is not limited to, a response numberdetermining sub-module 141 and a transmission acknowledgment sub-module142.

The response number determining sub-module 141 is configured todetermine whether the number of the received responses is equal to thenumber of the slave terminals.

The transmission acknowledgment sub-module 142 is configured toacknowledge, when the response number determining sub-module 141determines that the number of the received responses is equal to thenumber of the slave terminals, completion of transmission of theinteractive data to the slave terminals.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 11, the transmission determinationmodule 140 may further include: a non-responding terminal determinationsub-module 144, a data sending sub-module 145 and a response receivingsub-module 146.

The non-responding terminal determination sub-module 144 is configuredto determine, when the response number determining sub-module 141determines that the number of the received responses is not equal to thenumber of the slave terminals, non-responding terminals from the slaveterminals according to terminal identifiers in the responses.

The data transmission sub-module 145 is configured to transmit theinteractive data to the non-responding terminals.

The response receiving sub-module 146 is configured to receive responsesof the non-responding terminals to the interactive data, and acknowledgecompletion of transmission of the interactive data.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a data transmission control apparatusaccording to an exemplary embodiment. The apparatus is applied to aslave terminal for data transmission with a master terminal. The masterterminal is allowed for data transmission with at least two slaveterminals. The apparatus includes, but is not limited to, a secondtiming negotiation module 410, a data receiving module 420 and aresponse module 430.

The second timing negotiation module 410 is configured to acquiretimings obtained by a timing negotiation with the master terminal andallocated to the slave terminals.

The data receiving module 420 is configured to receive, upon obtainingof the timings, interactive data sent by the master terminal by means ofbroadcasting.

The response module 430 is configured to respond to the interactive dataaccording to the allocated timings.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 13, the second timing negotiation module410 includes, but is not limited to, a broadcast receiving sub-module411, an idle timing return sub-module 412, a timing receiving sub-module413, and a timing acknowledgment sending sub-module 414.

The broadcast receiving sub-module 411 is configured to receive acommunication connection broadcast sent by the master terminal.

The idle timing return sub-module 412 is configured to return, for thecommunication connection broadcast, at least one idle timing to themaster terminal.

The timing receiving sub-module 413 is configured to receive timingsallocated, by the master terminal, to the slave terminals according tothe at least one idle timing.

The timing acknowledgment sending sub-module 414 is configured to sendan acknowledgment message to the master terminal according to theallocated timings.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a terminal 100 according to an exemplaryembodiment. The terminal 100 may be the master terminal described in theabove embodiments, or may be the slave terminal described in the aboveembodiments. When the terminal 100 is the master terminal, all or partof the steps in the method shown in any of FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 areperformed. When the terminal 100 is the slave terminal, all or part ofthe steps in the method shown in any of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are performed.

Referring to FIG. 14, the terminal 100 may include one or more of thefollowing components: a processing component 101, a memory 102, a powercomponent 103, a multimedia component 104, an audio component 105, asensor component 107, and a communication component 108. The abovecomponents are not all necessary, and for the terminal 100, othercomponents may be added or some components may be removed according toown functional requirements, which is not limited in the presentembodiment.

The processing component 101 typically controls the overall operation ofthe terminal 100, such as operations associated with display, telephonecalls, data communications, camera operations, and recording operations.The processing component 101 may include one or more processors 109 toexecute instructions to complete all or part of the steps of the aboveoperations. Moreover, the processing component 101 may include one ormore modules to facilitate interaction between the processing component101 and other components. For example, the processing component 101 mayinclude a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between themultimedia component 104 and the processing component 101.

The memory 102 is configured to store various types of data to supportoperations at the terminal 100. Examples of such data includeinstructions for any application or method operating on the terminal100. The memory 102 may be implemented by any type of volatile ornon-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as a staticrandom access memory (SRAM), an electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), an erasable programmable read only memory(EPROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), a read-only memory(ROM), a magnetic memory, a flash memory, a magnetic disk or an opticaldisc. Also stored in the memory 102 is one or more modules, configuredto be executed by the one or more processors 109 to complete all or partof the steps in the method shown in any of FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG.5 and FIG. 6.

The power component 103 provides power to various components of theterminal 100. The power component 103 may include a power managementsystem, one or more power supplies, and other components associated withgenerating, managing, and distributing power for the terminal 100.

The multimedia component 104 includes a screen that provides an outputinterface between the terminal 100 and a user. In some embodiments, thescreen may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel(TP). If the screen includes the touch panel, the screen may beimplemented as a touch screen to receive an input signal from the user.The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touches,slides and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensor may not onlysense the boundary of a touch or slide operation, but also detect theduration and pressure associated with the touch or slide operation.

The audio component 105 is configured to output and/or input an audiosignal. For example, the audio component 105 includes a microphone thatis configured to receive an external audio signal when the terminal 100is in an operational mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode and avoice recognition mode. The received audio signal may be further storedin the memory 102 or transmitted via the communication component 108. Insome embodiments, the audio component 105 further includes a loudspeakerfor outputting an audio signal.

The sensor assembly 107 includes one or more sensors for providing theterminal 100 with various aspects of state assessment. For example, thesensor assembly 107 may detect an open/closed state of the terminal 100and the relative positioning of the components, and the sensor assembly107 may further detect a position change of the terminal 100 or onecomponent of the terminal 100 and a temperature change of the terminal100. In some embodiments, the sensor assembly 107 may further include amagnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component 108 is configured to facilitate wired orwireless communication between the terminal 100 and other devices. Theterminal 100 may access a wireless network based on a communicationstandard, such as wireless-fidelity (WiFi), 2G or 3G, or a combinationthereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 108receives a broadcast signal or broadcast associated information from anexternal broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In anexemplary embodiment, the communication component 108 further includes anear field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short rangecommunication. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on aradio frequency identification (RFID) technology, an infrared dataassociation (IrDA) technology, an ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, aBluetooth (BT) technology and other technologies.

In an exemplary embodiment, the terminal 100 may be implemented by oneor more application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), digital signalprocessors (DSP), programmable logic devices (PLD), field-programmablegate arrays (FPGA), controllers, micro-controllers, micro-processors orother electronic elements, for performing the above method.

The specific manner in which the processor of the terminal in thepresent embodiment performs the operation has been described in detailin the embodiment about the data transmission control method, and willnot be explained in detail herein.

It will be appreciated that this application is not limited to theprecise structures described above and shown in the drawings, andvarious modifications and changes can be made by those skilled in theart without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of thisapplication is limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A data transmission control method, applied to amaster terminal allowed for data transmission with at least two slaveterminals, the method comprising: performing a timing negotiation withthe at least two slave terminals to determine timings allocated for theeach of the at least two slave terminals; sending interactive data bymeans of broadcasting to the at least two slave terminals aftercompletion of timing allocation; receiving responses to the interactivedata from each of the at least two slave terminals according to theallocated corresponding timings; and acknowledging completion oftransmission of the interactive data to the slave terminals based on thereceived responses.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the stepof performing a timing negotiation with the at least two slave terminalsto determine timings allocated for the each of the at least two slaveterminals comprises: initiating a predetermined number of communicationconnection broadcasts, performing, for each communication connectionbroadcast, a timing negotiation with the slave terminal responding tothe communication connection broadcast, and allocating the negotiatedtiming for the corresponding slave terminal.
 3. The method according toclaim 2, wherein the step of initiating a predetermined number ofcommunication connection broadcasts, performing, for each communicationconnection broadcast, a timing negotiation with the slave terminalresponding to the communication connection broadcast and allocating thenegotiated timing for the corresponding slave terminal comprises:receiving, upon initiation of each communication connection broadcast,an idle timing of the slave terminal responding to the communicationconnection broadcast; allocating timings for the slave terminalsaccording to the idle timing, and sending the allocated timings to theslave terminals, different slave terminals corresponding to differenttimings; and receiving acknowledgment messages of the slave terminalsfor the respective allocated timings.
 4. The method according to claim1, wherein the step of acknowledging completion of transmission of theinteractive data to the slave terminals based on the received responsescomprises: determining whether the number of the received responses isequal to the number of the slave terminals; and if yes, acknowledgingcompletion of transmission of the interactive data to the slaveterminals.
 5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: ifthe number of the received responses is not equal to the number of theslave terminals, determining non-responding terminals from the slaveterminals according to terminal identifiers in the responses; sendingthe interactive data to the non-responding terminals; and receivingresponses of the non-responding terminals to the interactive data, andacknowledging completion of transmission of the interactive data.
 6. Adata transmission control method, applied to slave terminals for datatransmission with a master terminal, the master terminal being allowedfor data transmission with at least two of the slave terminals, themethod comprising: acquiring timings obtained by performing a timingnegotiation with the master terminal and allocated for the slaveterminals; receiving, upon obtaining of the timings, interactive datasent by the master terminal by means of broadcasting; and responding tothe interactive data according to the allocated timings.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 6, wherein the step of acquiring timings obtained byperforming a timing negotiation with the master terminal and allocatedfor the slave terminals comprises: receiving a communication connectionbroadcast sent by the master terminal; returning, for the communicationconnection broadcast, at least one idle timing to the master terminal;receiving timings allocated, by the master terminal, for the slaveterminals according to the at least one idle timing; and sending anacknowledgment message to the master terminal according to the allocatedtimings.
 8. A tire pressure sensor programming method, comprising:performing a timing negotiation with at least two tire pressure sensorsto obtain timings allocated for the respective tire pressure sensors;sending programming data to the respective tire pressure sensors in abroadcasting manner; receiving responses of the respective tire pressuresensors to the received programming data according to the allocatedtimings; and acknowledging, using the received responses, completion oftransmission of the programming data to the respective tire pressuresensors.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step ofperforming a timing negotiation with at least two tire pressure sensorsto obtain timings allocated for the respective tire pressure sensorscomprises: initiating a predetermined number of communication connectionbroadcasts, performing, for each communication connection broadcast, atiming negotiation with the tire pressure sensor responding to thecommunication connection broadcast, and allocating the negotiated timingto the corresponding tire pressure sensor.
 10. The method according toclaim 9, wherein the step of initiating a predetermined number ofcommunication connection broadcasts, performing, for each communicationconnection broadcast, a timing negotiation with the tire pressure sensorresponding to the communication connection broadcast and allocating thenegotiated timing to the corresponding tire pressure sensor comprises:receiving, upon initiation of each communication connection broadcast,an idle timing of the tire pressure sensor responding to thecommunication connection broadcast; allocating timings for the tirepressure sensors according to the idle timing, and sending the allocatedtimings to the tire pressure sensors, different tire pressure sensorscorresponding to different timings; and receiving acknowledgmentmessages of the tire pressure sensors for the respective allocatedtimings.
 11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step ofacknowledging, using the received responses, completion of transmissionof the programming data to the respective tire pressure sensorscomprises: determining whether the number of the received responses isequal to the number of the tire pressure sensors; and if yes,acknowledging completion of transmission of the programming data to therespective tire pressure sensors.
 12. The method according to claim 9,wherein the step of acknowledging, using the received responses,completion of transmission of the programming data to the respectivetire pressure sensors comprises: determining whether the number of thereceived responses is equal to the number of the tire pressure sensors;and if yes, acknowledging completion of transmission of the programmingdata to the respective tire pressure sensors.
 13. The method accordingto claim 10, wherein the step of acknowledging, using the receivedresponses, completion of transmission of the programming data to therespective tire pressure sensors comprises: determining whether thenumber of the received responses is equal to the number of the tirepressure sensors; and if yes, acknowledging completion of transmissionof the programming data to the respective tire pressure sensors.
 14. Themethod according to claim 11, further comprising: if the number of thereceived responses is not equal to the number of the tire pressuresensors, determining non-responding tire pressure sensors according totire pressure sensor identifiers in the responses; sending theprogramming data to the non-responding tire pressure sensors; andreceiving responses of the non-responding tire pressure sensors to theprogramming data, and acknowledging completion of transmission of theprogramming data.
 15. The method according to claim 8, furthercomprising: displaying a result of programming the at least two tirepressure sensors.